I mentioned in an earlier post that 2012 was pretty prolific for me in terms of images in categories that I had not concentrated on in previous years. Not sure why but my collection of images of which I am proud expanded quite a bit last year. I also put a lot more energy into shooting wildlife and nature images than I had previously although my "working" stuff -- dog shows/trials, weddings, kids -- was fairly active.

So, here are my favorites by category. I hope you'll enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed shooting them. In the category of animals, I had a bunch of stuff from my wildlife shoots but my favorite image is from a Herding Trail in March. This Border Collie exemplifies the intensity and concentration these dogs have when doing what they were bred to do. Titled: The Eyes.



Next category: birds. I discovered two new locations this year: The Orlando Wetlands Park and the Avian Reconditioning Center. Both provided me with great shooting opportunities but of all the shots I got, this one of Henry, a European Barn Owl staying at the Avian Center, was my favorite.



From Birds we move to Blossoms and this image of wild Poppies was taken on our trip to Michigan in May.



For me, the hardest subjects to shoot are bugs and butterflies. They move a lot and very quickly and capturing them requires good gear and lots of patience -- the latter not exactly my strongest skill . Here is my pick for Best Bug of 2012: a Dragon Fly captured at Orlando Wetlands Park.



And, in the Butterfly Category, here's a White Peacock. This made my best list because it is a very tiny butterfly that darts around a lot and seldom actually lands for any length of time. They require a lot of stalking and I was delighted with this particular capture.



People are still a big portion of my work and during the year, we completed our Baby Book for Cooper Perry's first year. This was taken at his first year Birthday Party and is my best People Picture of the year.



And, finally, there's the Places/Things Category. I wish I had a landscape image that could rival James' recent post but that's a category I'll have to work on in 2013. Meanwhile, here's my take on Orlando Wetlands Park.



For me, it was a good year. I worked on projects outside of my principal business focus and created new business opportunities shooting subjects that I really love. I'm hoping to continue to build those categories in 2013.

Jim